The Super Hero Squad Show

Did You Know?

• Mitch Schauer, creator of The Angry Beavers, was the show's supervising director and character designer.
• Singer-songwriter Parry Gripp composed the theme song.
• The show was included in Comic Book Resources' list of '13 Best Animated Movies & TV Shows Featuring Black Panther' at 10th place.

Plot

Before the series begins, Doctor Doom tries to obtain the Infinity Sword for world domination but is stopped by Iron Man; the sword is destroyed and shattered into Infinity Fractals. In the present, Doom leads the Lethal Legion—including MODOK and Abomination—from Villainville, separated from Super Hero City by a giant wall, to collect the fractals. Opposing him is Iron Man, who heads the Super Hero Squad consisting of Falcon, Hulk, Silver Surfer, Thor, and Wolverine, aiming to gather the fractals first. The Squad operates from the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier and receives help from Captain America, Ms. Marvel, Reptil, and other heroes. At the end of the first season, Galactus threatens Earth, prompting the Squad to reforge the Infinity Sword; Silver Surfer takes it and leaves to serve as Galactus' herald. The second season sees the Squad traveling across the Marvel Universe, with Thanos as the main antagonist seeking the Infinity Gems. Scarlet Witch replaces Surfer, while Iron Man, Hulk, Falcon, Wolverine, and Thor return. Later, the Surfer, corrupted by the Sword's power, steals the Infinity Gauntlet from Thanos and becomes the Dark Surfer, scattering the Squad through time and space. He is eventually defeated, the Sword is destroyed again, and Surfer refuses to rejoin until he repents.

Broadcast history

The Super Hero Squad Show’s first season was originally set to premiere on Cartoon Network in the United States on September 19, 2009, but it actually debuted five days earlier, on September 14, 2009. The second season, which was inspired by The Infinity Gauntlet, started on October 23, 2010, and its run on Cartoon Network ended on February 19, 2011, with the fortieth episode, “Fate of Destiny!”. After that point, fresh episodes were only broadcast on Teletoon and made available for purchase on iTunes. The series returned to Cartoon Network on July 23, 2011, in a new noon timeslot, but no new episodes followed in the subsequent weeks. In September 2011, the network announced that new episodes would air on weekday mornings at 7:00 am starting October 3, 2011, and the show concluded on October 14, 2011. A total of 52 episodes were produced. Hub Network began airing the series on January 30, 2012, as part of its daily weekday schedule, and it continued on Discovery Family until January 30, 2015. Because Cartoon Network lost the rights, all Super Hero Squad content was taken down from its website, and the rights reverted from Warner Bros. Discovery to Disney following the 2009 acquisition of Marvel Entertainment. Both seasons were added to Disney+ on January 3, 2020. In Canada, the series first aired on Teletoon on September 13, 2009, at 8:30 am as part of the Action Force block, and it returned for the second season on February 6, 2011, at 7:00 am. All 52 episodes aired in Canada, ending on July 10, 2011. The show premiered in Australia on ABC3 on December 4, 2009, and also in October 2009. It aired on Nicktoons in the UK, and reruns were also broadcast on Disney XD in the United States.

Home media

Most episodes were released on DVD by Shout! Factory across several volumes. Five additional volumes were released: 'Hero Up' (episodes 1–6), 'Hulk Smash' (7–11), 'Don't Call Me Wolvie' (12–16), 'Tales of Evil' (17–21), and 'Mother of Doom' (22–26). In Australia, Magna Home Entertainment released 'The Infinity Fractal War (Vol 1)' and 'Titanic Team-Ups (Vol 2)' on June 2, 2010, and 'The Lethal Legion Strikes (Vol 3)' on September 8, 2010, each with 6–7 episodes and character profiles. The final Season 1 volume, 'Quest for the Infinity Sword (Vol 4)', was released on November 3, 2010, containing the last six episodes. Season 2 'The Infinity Gauntlet (Vol 1)' and 'Infinite Thanos (Vol 2)' (November 2, 2011) were also released.

In other media

A four-part comic book series titled 'Marvel Super Hero Squad' was released in fall 2009 and was successful enough that Marvel renewed it in January 2010 as an ongoing series called 'Super Hero Squad', which included characters outside the show. As of December 8, 2010, 12 issues had been released, with no new issues since, suggesting cancellation. Marvel later released 'Super Hero Squad Spectacular', in which the Beyonder sends the characters to another planet with the Lethal Legion. Video games include 'Marvel Super Hero Squad' (October 20, 2009) and 'Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet' (November 16, 2010). 'Marvel Super Hero Squad Online', a massively multiplayer online game based on the franchise, launched in April 2011 and shut down in 2017. In the 'Mad' segment 'Avenger Time', Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, and Thor enter a reality resembling the show. In the 'Ultimate Spider-Man' episode 'Flight of the Iron Spider', Living Laser is transported to the show's universe, where Thor defeats him.